Nothing in the World
by astrum202
Summary: Mr. Bingely proposes an evening activity while Elizabeth visits Pemburly, putting herself and Mr. Darcy in the positions of the famous Beatrice and Benedick from Much ado About Nothing. Set after Elizabeth rejects Darcy and goes on vacation.
1. Rehersal

"What is it exactly we're doing here Charles

Author's note: So I obviously don't own Much ado or P&P so just gonna get that out of the way first. Now about the story. I was in Much ado and even though I had a slightly pitiful role (I was Dogberry's sidekick Verges) it is now my favorite Shakespeare play. After watching Pride and Prejudice (It's on my list of things to read, but I'm saving it for last on my Jane Austen list) I thought how much like Beatrice and Benedick Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are, and thus the pitiful fanfic was born! I'm actually kind of surprised no one's thought of this yet. Note there will be two more chapters after this one. Can't wait to hear what people think, enjoy the romantic angst!

"What is it exactly we're doing here Charles?"

Mr. Darcy had known Charles Bingely for a long time and thus knew of his cheerful nature. He knew of his desire to keep people happy and to keep a mood light, He knew of his fondness for so called "delightful" activities. But never had these traits of Mr. Bingely put Mr. Darcy, or anyone else, in such an awkward, confused, ridiculous and quite frankly…silly position. Nor had he ever known Bingely to have a fondness for Shakespeare.

He glanced at the four others, Mr. Bingely, his sisters, Georgiana and Ms. Eliza Bennet. Each held in their laps a small leather-bound copy of _Much ado About Nothing._ After the piano recital the entire party had fallen into a surprisingly boring state and thus Mr. Bingely had fetched the said copies to be used in an entertaining activity of some sort. Mr. Darcy surveyed the people around him one more time. Mr. Bingely with his eager expression, much resembled a dog waiting for a bone, Georgiana also smiling although not nearly with as much comfort or confidence and his sisters who were both obviously annoyed with this activity but trying to maintain dignified expressions made Darcy laugh inwardly.

When his glance fell on Ms. Bennet he noticed she looked as uncomfortable as he did, but she had a discreet smile on her face, like she too had gotten the same amusement from the expressions of Mr. Bingely's sisters. The result in Mr. Darcy's eyes was quite an adorable one, but still Elizabeth maintained her own discreet dignity and beauty. _It won't do you any good to think like that, _said one of Mr. Darcy's remaining sensible brain cells. _It will only make it hurt more._

"It's quite simple, Darcy," replied Bingely in his enthusiastic tone "We'll all take on different roles for each scene, then act it out. It will be just like reading poetry!" Darcy looked around again. The party seemed to be less confused but no more enthusiastic.

"Okay one more question Charles, what is the play about?" Elizabeth and Georgiana traded amused glances with each other, as if it was rather funny that Darcy shouldn't know the play's plot. This in turn caused the Bingely sisters to trade uncomfortable and slightly distressed glances at one another, no doubt also in ignorance of the play's story.

Thankfully Mr. Bingely explained the plot to all of those in ignorance. It was typical and yet unusual for classic literature. Hero and Claudio, the lord and daughter of a lord in Italy, fall in love with each other almost on sight. _Typical _thought Darcy. Then their marriage is hindered by the prince's bastard brother. _Okay nothing new _continued Darcy's brain. Bingely then explained that everything worked out well thanks to an idiot constable with an entire monologue devoted to how he is an ass. _Oh what I would pay to see Caroline Bingely in that role. _

Finally Bingely explained the opposite set of lovers. Hero's cousin Beatrice and Claudio's friend Benedick, who constantly battle each other with wit and appear to hate each other until they are tricked into loving each other by the prince, Claudio and the others. _Now why does that seem slightly familiar to me?_

"But you know," chimed in Georgiana "It's actually quite obvious that the two of them are in love before the play even starts. They're really just unsure of the other's feelings."

"Indeed," concluded Bingely "And now let us cast our miniature production." Suddenly Darcy noticed a mischievous gleam enter his friend's eye. "Perhaps Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet would take on the honor of being our Beatrice and Benedick?"

"Yes!" said Darcy immediately standing up. The room's eyes rose up with him. Georgiana and Bingely each tried to suppress amused grins. Caroline Bingely's face turned to an expression of absolute horror, her sister with a similar expression. Darcy hardly cared about any of this though. _Please tell me you did not just do that, _said his sensible brain cell as his eyes turned to meet Elizabeth's expression of uneasy surprise. _Say something idiot! _"That is if Ms. Bennet will take on the role."

Elizabeth let out a small, airy chuckle. "Certainly Mr. Darcy, it would be an honor to play opposite you. Hopefully my acting skills will match yours." With that she stood and mock curtsied. _Well at least she doesn't seem to abhor me after rejecting me. _

Soon the play was cast with Mr. Bingely as Claudio and Georgiana as Hero while Ms. Bingely and Mrs. Hurst filled in the remaining parts at different times.

Darcy had to admit that the activity proved to be more enjoyable than he first imagined. At first the insults passing between him and Elizabeth in the first scenes were painful. He could not escape the impression that she really meant them. It was not at all too soon before the scenes of trickery came up. Darcy relished in hearing that his female opposite was in love with him, despite the fact that the feelings were not those of Eliza Bennet and even the character in the play had not meant them. Then came Elizabeth's turn to hear his supposed affections. Darcy could not help but watch her face intently as she eavesdropped. Her manner though was puzzling. Instead of responding to the news with shock as Beatrice would most likely do, her eyes harbored a certain wistfulness in them. _Stop it! It's probably only your damn imagination. _He also noticed his sensible brain cell was becoming extremely vexing.

The next scene Darcy took notice of was that when Bingely, as Claudio shamed Georgiana, as Hero. Since it was so against Bingely's nature to act distrusting and outraged, he almost completely misunderstood how to act the scene. Darcy expected him to stammer out the accusations, but what actually transpired was far more amusing. Instead of under-acting the scene, as Darcy supposed he would, Bingely overacted it. He pranced around the room in the most ridiculous manner, trying to appear outraged. His loud shouts of indignation had a voice that was so desperately made up, it made even Darcy start to giggle uncontrollably. So hysterical was the image of his friend that he only noticed he and Elizabeth were in a scene together, alone, until she was half-way done her first line.

Darcy realized with a mixture of fear and enthusiasm that it was the scene in which Beatrice and Benedick confess their love for each other. He once again couldn't help but watch Elizabeth intently through every one of her lines, searching her face for any sign of truth in any of her lines. She seemed so angry though, so resentful. Darcy looked down at the book in desperation. _Please tell me she's supposed to act like this! _He found that she was.

The confessions of love had not yet come in the plot, instead Beatrice was railing against her cousin being disgraced. Mr. Darcy looked with relief back up at his partner, but that relief soon left him. He could see quite clearly that Elizabeth was addressing him with such disgust. _Why? _He thought frantically. _Why, we were fine until this point. Why is she acting so resentful now?! I haven't done anything to hurt her this much have I…oh. _

Without thinking Darcy reached out for Elizabeth's hand, stopping her just as she finished a line. He waited a moment, gazing into her mystifying brown eyes. _Okay now you're just being cliché. _Piped in a certain obnoxious brain cell.

"I love nothing in the world so much as you…is that not strange?" Darcy gripped Elizabeth's hand tighter, his face begged her to see the truth in the line. For a moment Elizabeth was shocked, but then her face turned to one of cool acknowledgment. The scene went on, the play progressed . But still Darcy couldn't help but think he saw a hint of warmth in that cold face of acceptance.

At last the final scene of multiple weddings took place. Hero was revealed to be innocent (and alive) after her scandal. Claudio happily took her as his wife and Darcy was set for the final confrontation with his Beatrice. The love sonnets were revealed by Georgiana and Bingely, much to the embarrassment of their friend and cousin.

"And here is one in my cousin's hand proclaiming her affection onto Benedick." Georgiana held the piece of paper up as a sort of trophy. She had a mischievous glint and tone of voice as she said this line that Darcy was pretty sure wasn't acting. He glanced at Elizabeth to see her turning as red as he was with an equally surprised look on her face.

And thus Beatrice and Benedick were humiliated into caving into their affections and marrying. Darcy looked at the bottom of the page and when he saw the stage direction he eagerly read his line, despite the fact Elizabeth was railing a rather insulting confession at him.

"Peace," he said light-heartedly, reaching for her hand again. "I will stop …"

"Well done, well done Charles," said Caroline nervously getting up and clapping loudly, cutting Mr. Darcy off. "An excellent activity you were all very good." As she finished she cast a discreet vicious glare in the direction of Elizabeth.

The activity thus hastily concluded, the party said their goodbyes and dispersed about Pemburly. As he walked Darcy glanced wistfully at the last page of the book and the stage direction on it. _He kisses her. If only that damn woman hadn't interrupted. _He thought in frustration. _On the other hand she did an excellent job of proclaiming herself an ass. _


	2. Performance

Authors note: So glad so many people have been reading the story! I was originally going to leave out any ass reference in this chapter, but since most of the people who submitted reviews commented on that, I threw in a small joke. Anyway there will be one more, short, chapter after this one. Hope this bit of the story gets as much positive feedback as the first part did. (I don't own any of the characters. Jane Austen does, who is most likely raising hell in her grave because of my terrible abuse of her characters. ;)

_Can he really?_ Elizabeth sat on one of the benches in garden, gazing up at the pastel blue sky as the sun painted strokes of orange against the horizon. "There is nothing in the world I love so much as you…is that not strange?" The words had been circling her head for the past half-hour. She had known that it was only a line in a play, used for an evening's enjoyment. Still she could not forget Mr. Darcy's eyes as he said those words. _Can he really still love me?_

She heard the door behind her creak and close a moment later. She expected it to be one of the servants so she took no notice of it. When she heard the footsteps come closer to her she glanced behind her and fought the immediate urge flee the grounds.

Mr. Darcy walked towards her at a slow, but eager pace. He bowed politely and proceeded towards the bench. "May I sit with you a while Ms. Elizabeth." He spoke in an almost apologetic tone making it impossible for Elizabeth to refuse him.

"Yes if you so desire to." She sat down, only then realizing she had involuntarily gotten up. They sat and gradually Elizabeth's manner relaxed. She stole a glance at her companion. His normally foreboding confidence had also softened. In fact he almost looked pleasant, like he was going over a warm and delicate thought. He heart wrenched a bit, in an oddly bittersweet manner, and she couldn't help but smile.

Elizabeth's facial expression did not go wholly unnoticed. Mr. Darcy smirked and glanced back out at the sky. "You're in a more accepting humor with me then you were during our play." The tone in which he spoke was an amused one, though Elizabeth could somehow tell he was being completely serious. _Since when did the stoic Mr. Darcy become easy to decipher? _It was a puzzling thought, although Elizabeth did not think the change to be entirely unwelcome.

"I can't think of what you are referring to." Said Elizabeth, in a tone that said she knew damn well what he was referring to but that there was no bloody way he was going to get out of confessing it. "Enlighten me."

Darcy grinned bitterly with remorse. "When you spoke of your cousin, also your dearest friend, being wronged by the man she loved. I could not escape the thought that you were addressing me."

Elizabeth stiffened. It was the reply she was expecting but she had expected him to beat around the bush a bit. She remembered his proposal to her; he had not been so hasty to admit his fault. _Could he be changing?_ "Indeed I was addressing you. I'm sure you can infer why."

Darcy nodded and leaned back against the bench. He didn't say anything for a few moments and Elizabeth was about to let the conversation drop. She started to get up off the bench and walk back toward the house.

"It might have been better if your sister had been here to play Hero as opposed to Georgiana," Mr. Darcy said, a little loudly, musing over the thought. Elizabeth stopped immediately and turned back to face him in surprise.

"There was a time when you convinced me that you thought quite the opposite sir," replied Elizabeth cautiously. "Surely your views have not changed so quickly from that time?"

"That was a time before you convinced me of how sincere your sisters affections were. And before I realized how deeply I had hurt my friend." He smiled in a very foolish manner. "Tell me, am I not an ass Ms. Elizabeth?"

_He's gotten sweet, in a really odd way, but still…_Elizabeth cut herself off not daring to finish the thought. She gave a quick laugh muffled by her breath. "Indeed sir, you were an ass, but now I believe it is safe to say the only ass among us is Ms. Caroline Bingely." She stopped worried that she had overstepped a boundary and offended her partner.

Her worries abated when she heard Mr. Darcy's hearty laugh. It surprised her, for never had she heard Mr. Darcy laugh before. It was strong and joyful. A laugh that was not often used, but sweet when it was. Elizabeth, lost in thought, did not notice Mr. Darcy was much closer to her then he had been before and was holding her hands.

She looked down quickly and then back up at Mr. Darcy's face. "Mr. Darcy may I ask what you're doing?"

"Only finishing the scene. If you recall we were interrupted by our donkey-like friend before we could finish."

"Mr. Darcy I hardly think with no audience…"

"Peace I will stop your mouth." Mr. Darcy put his hands on her waist, leaned in and kissed her gently on the mouth. Elizabeth's whole body was in an uproar. Her chest tightened and heat immediately Part of her wanted to push him off, and most of her was too surprised to have any reaction. But still there was a part of her that wanted it to last.

The kiss wasn't very deep but it was nearly a minute before Mr. Darcy pulled away from a very startled Ms. Bennet. Her eyes were wide and her face resembled a strawberry. She raised a hand to her forehead and let out a breath she had been holding in.

"Good night, my Beatrice," said Darcy, calm and shaking at the same time. He strode back to the house a little faster than he had come out. Elizabeth watched him go, her hand still at her forehead. At last her face regained its normal color. Her breathing became normal and chest loosened. _Why? _Elizabeth's thoughts did not have one emotion, but instead were a flurry of multiple ones. _How was he able to __**do**__ all that to me?_

She stared wonderingly at the house for a moment then smiled. "Good night, my Benedick," she whispered softly under her breath amidst a chuckle.

-

_That was __**not **__very sensible. _The sensible brain cell of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy was particularly annoyed with his master after his last action.

_Oh, shut up. _Darcy entered the house and walked down the corridor towards the bedrooms. Georgiana was there waiting for him, outside the library that just happened to look out into the garden.

"Lovely night, isn't it brother," she said pleasantly. Mr. Darcy caught the mischievous hint in her tone.

"Yes, indeed it is," he said without looking at her.

"I was just thinking what a pity it was we couldn't finish the play."

"Indeed."

Georgiana laughed. "I see you have a limited vocabulary tonight brother." He nodded. "You and Ms. Elizabeth were extremely well together." Mr. Darcy nodded again, this time slowly and more hesitantly. "I hope that I'll see you two again like that together," she mused just loud enough for her brother to hear.

He stopped in his tracks, staring at his sister in as disbelieving a manner as he could pull off. Georgiana only smiled and kept walking. At last her brother followed suit, harboring a warm, hopeful expression on his face.

"Perhaps you will sister, perhaps you will."


	3. Finale

Author's note: So I said I was only going to write one more chapter, but I felt inclined to throw this in

Author's note: So I said I was only going to write one more chapter, but I felt inclined to throw this in. It's kind of fluffy and not funny at all, but I still wrote it out of impulse. I will still write the bonus final chapter, this is not where the story ends…well actually this is kind of where it ends…I don't really know what I'm trying to say. Anyway the idea came from the church scene in Much ado after Hero is disgraced. Looking at it now it isn't anything like it…oh well. I own nothing except the situation I put them in, Jane has everything else.

_Oh God I knew this couldn't be a good idea. _Elizabeth sat under a tree, next to the road, only half a mile from Pemburly, and had the misfortune of being very wet. The rain poured down around her and Elizabeth could feel the first tear start to fall down her face. She thought of everything, Lydia running off with Wickham, the suffering her father was no doubt enduring and Jane's now non-existent hope at happiness. But mostly she thought of Mr. Darcy. The cold distant look he had given her, the impossibility of ever seeing him again, the strange aching in her chest she had felt ever since the night before; all were embedded in her mind.

Elizabeth had decided, as she was preparing for her departure, that she simply could not leave things on such terms. She was determined to go and see him at Pemburly and possibly change…something. She wasn't really sure what she just, she had to see him again. Now sitting under the tree, the rain falling around her seemed to be a tableau of her heart and mind; chaotic, insecure and stained with tears. She could feel it pulling, she could not see him again; she could change nothing.

The sound of hoof beats on the road before her made her get up. She walked to the road to see if there was a on which carriage she could ask for passage back to the inn. Instead of many horses there was only one, a light-ish grey stallion, on which road a man dressed in a dark cloak. Upon seeing her, the rider stopped and dismounted running over to her. Elizabeth was frozen in fear, and fought back the urge to scream when he grabbed her arm.

"Ms. Elizabeth, what on earth are you doing out in this rain?"

Elizabeth wanted to laugh and cry when she finally saw the rider's face and heard his voice, realizing who was now next to her.

"I…I merely wanted to…apologize…to you…for my unbecoming behavior this morning." Elizabeth tried to find a decent story, anything to tell him.

"Oh God, no there is nothing to apologize for. I would not have expected your behavior to differ in any way."

"Nevertheless I still wanted to see you again before I left. I wanted to thank you for the kindness you have shown me these last few days."

A stifled cry escaped her as Mr. Darcy pulled her into his arms. His embrace was loving and Elizabeth's tears escaped her, singing her cheeks violently. She wrapped her arms around his waist, thankful for the returning security she was feeling.

_Oh god, why is she crying? _"There is more for me to thank you for," he murmured softly. He pulled away and held her hand gently. "There are affairs I must settle that I have put off for far too long. I was going into town to wish you well before I left. Now I am afraid I must leave you." He leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead. His face moved to the side of her face before he mounted his horse and rode off into the dying rain. Elizabeth stood there for a moment, a smile barely visible on her face. She wanted to hold those words he had just whispered to her close. They were a light in the new emotional turmoil she was feeling. _Nothing in the world…_


	4. Encore

O

O.K. last chapter. I'm actually kind of glad I'm ending this story as I have two fanfic ideas I really want to start working on, though I did love this idea and am extremely happy it got so much positive response. Well I hope you enjoy the conclusion of the story and that it isn't as bad or fluff-filled as my author's instinct is inclined to believe it is. The name thing is really pretty predictable, but I couldn't help it. Actually if you look I named their son after a character from _Twelfth Night. _So Shakespeare owns the child names and Austen owns the characters…except the kids, they're mine.

And five years later…

All Mr. Darcy could do was stand there bone stupid as the mixture of emotions overtook his mind. Fear, joy, love, franticness and, above all, confusion took his senses as his wife gritted her teeth, groaned, let out the occasional scream and cut off the circulation in his hand.

"Keep pushing madam, you're almost done." Mr. Darcy noticed this was about the seventh time that the midwife had declared this, but he did not complain. Elizabeth needed the encouragement. So did he, but he found his comfort at the door.

Their four year-old son, Sebastian, stuck his head out from behind the bedroom door. His messy black hair drooped down into his light blue eyes, which had a mixture of fear and curiosity in them. He had peeked in multiple times during the process and had never once actually entered the room. Mr. Darcy caught his eye and remembered how much worse it had been the first time. Elizabeth had gotten through bringing one child into the world, she could handle another. "It will be over soon," he mouthed to his son. Sebastian, understanding the meaning, nodded vigorously, forcing his father to smile.

At last Mr. Darcy felt the pressure on his hand lessen. The midwife gathered the small, fair-haired infant in a cloth. "It's a girl," was all she said, though there was a sense of accomplishment in her voice, as she brought the child up to Elizabeth.

Tears of pain and joy ran down Elizabeth's cheeks as she held her new daughter in her arms. Mr. Darcy leaned over to kiss her hair before gathering her shoulders in his arms. Sebastian eagerly ran over to greet his new sibling and tired mother.

"She has Georgiana's hair," remarked Elizabeth as the family huddled together on the bed.

"And your father's nose," continued her husband. Elizabeth laughed.

"Let's just hope she doesn't have my mother's mouth." They both laughed and Darcy murmured a quick "amen to that" before asking the last question.

"What will we call her my dear?" ha asked. Elizabeth smiled warmly and nuzzled the baby's nose.

"Beatrice. I'd like to call her Beatrice."

Mr. Darcy puzzled a moment before remembering and chuckled.

"I like that. My Beatrice."


End file.
